Eamonn returns home after epic barefoot walk
Eamonn Keaveney returns to his hometown of Claremorris next Saturday.
Crowds are expected to gather in Claremorris Square at 3pm on this Saturday, March 7th, to welcome home Eamonn Keaveney following his extraordinary 6,000km barefoot walk across Europe. His return marks the culmination of a journey that has captured national and international attention and brought significant recognition to his hometown.
Eamonn set out from Istanbul on March 4th last year with the aim of breaking the world record for the longest barefoot walk. Over the course of 340 days, he travelled through Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Germany, France, England and Wales before crossing Ireland and eventually reaching An Dún Mór in west Kerry, recognised as the most westerly point in Europe.
In completing the trek, the 33-year-old from Claremorris surpassed the previous world record distance of 3,409.75km, ultimately covering more than 6,000km barefoot. The achievement marks a return to record-breaking form for Eamonn, who previously set a barefoot walking record in 2016 when he walked 2,000km around Ireland, a milestone that was later surpassed. Over the years he has undertaken a series of endurance challenges, including climbing ten mountains in ten days barefoot and unicycling the length of Ireland in 2023.
The latest journey was not without significant difficulty. On the opening day he suffered cuts to both big toes and shortly afterwards required a full course of rabies vaccinations following a dog bite. Despite these setbacks, he continued the walk without footwear, persevering across varied terrain and changing weather conditions for almost a year.
His progress was documented on social media, attracting widespread interest and support. Eamonn used the walk to raise funds for Jigsaw, the youth mental health charity, and Friends of the Earth Ireland.
